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M- 


ARROWS 


OR 


TEACHING    A    FINE    ART 


ADDISON  BALLARD,  D.  D. 

TBOrZttHOH      or      LOGIC,       NEW       VOIIK       IN1VBK8.TY 

//-'32. 

Second   I'.dition 


A.    S.    HARNES   &   COMTANV 
NEW  YORK 


Oct     '^02. 


Copyright,  1890  and  1898,  by 

S.     BARNES    &    COMPANY 


^  I 


The  substance  of  three  Addresses 
is  here  given,  with  the  thought  that 
others  besides  those  to  whom  they 
were  first  dehvered  may  find  in  tht  m 
also  something  in  the  way  of  both 
agreeable  and  profitable  suggestion. 

A.  B. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 


The  Arrow, i 

I.     The  Outfit, ii 

II.     Teaching,  a  Fine  Art,   ....  29 

III.     The  Lordship  of  Love,  ....  63 


TO 

MY    PUPILS 

OF 

EARLIER   AND   LATER   YEARS 


THE   ARROW. 


THE  ARROW. 

In  his  "Song  of  Ascents"  the  wis- 
est ruler  of  his  own  or  of  any  time 
gives  us  w^hat  may  be  taken  as  an 
apt  symbol  of  an  ideally-perfect  edu- 
cation : 

"As  Arrows  in  the  hand  of  a 
mighty  man,  so  are  children  of  the 
youth." 

The  rude  club  is  no  mean  weapon, 
as  "when  Van  Amburgh  witii  one 
in  his  hanfl  compels  a  tiger's  feroc- 
ity   to     submit     to     iiis     will."        l^iit 


2  THE    ARROW. 

rive  this  ungainly  club  into  square 
sticks.  Let  the  square  stick  be 
rounded,  smoothed,  headed,  and 
feathered.  Its  effectiveness  is  now 
incalculably  increased.  The  m^xi- 
mum  of  energy  is  attained  by  this 
union  of  strength  and  beauty,  of 
firmness  and  grace,  of  tough  fiber 
and  fine  finish. 

I.  The  mind  must  be  made  to 
grow  evenly  and  in  proportion. 
That  is  rounding  and  smoothing 
the  arrow.  It  must  be  armed  with 
courage  and  decision.  That  is 
heading  the  arrow.  It  must  be 
guided  by  unerring  principle.  And 
that  is  feathering  the  arrow.  This 
trinity  of  training  is  needed  to  make 
a  perfect  arrow,  or  a  perfect  man. 


THE    ARROW.  3 

2.  The  barb  and  feather  may  be 
right,  but  the  arrow-stem,  though 
strong,  may  be  ill-proportioned  and 
clumsy.  This  makes  an  excellent 
weapon,  and  in  the  "hand  of  a  mighty 
man "  does  good  and  brave  work. 
This  is  the  self-made  man  with 
whom  force  and  purity  of  purpose 
make  up 'largely  for  the  lack  of  the 
culture  of  the  schools.  It  is  some- 
thing to  have  accomplishments,  but 
it  is  more  to  accomplish.  The  glory 
of  a  "  self-made "  man  is  not  that 
he  is  self-made,  but  that  he  is  fuade. 

3.  Again,  the  arrow  may  be 
symmetrical,  highly  polished  and  well- 
feathered,  hut  may  have  a  weak  Iicad 
This  is  the  man  of  ability,  culture, 
and    good     intentions,    but    without 


4  THE    ARROW. 

earnestness  of  purpose  and  strength 
of  will.  He  either  sinks  shattered, 
or  flies  disheartened  at  the  first  onset 
of  error  or  wrong.  Instead  of  split- 
ting the  head  of  the  foe,  the  arrow's 
own  head  is  split  and  spoilt ;  the  piti- 
ful spectacle  of  superior  goodness 
quailing  before  the  frowning  front  of 
falsehood,  knavery,  or  injustice. 

4.  Or,  once  more,  the  arrow  may 
be  straight,  smooth,  and  well-headed, 
but  without  a  feather.  Then  you  are 
not  at  all  sure  of  the  trueness  of  its 
flight.  It  is  more  likely  to  miss  than 
to  hit  the  mark.  This  is  the  man  of 
well-trained  intellect,  polished  man- 
ners, and  force  of  will,  but  without 
uprightness  of  principle.  He  is  the 
man   whom   you  can  not  trust.     He 


THE    ARROW.  5 

veers  this  way  or  that,  according  to 
the  preponderating  motive  of  self-in- 
terest. True  principle  holds  this 
oblique  tendency  continually  in  check, 
causing  the  whole  man  with  the  full 
momentum  of  his  finely  disciplined 
powers  to  revolve  unvaryingly  about 
the  immovable  axis  of  right. 

None  are  more  to  be  honored  and 
envied  than  those  who  in  the  home, 
school,  church,  seminary,  or  college, 
have  in  their  hands  the  training  of 
youth,  ready  at  the  fit  moment  to  be 
launched  forth  on  the  world's  broad 
and  hotly  -  contested  battle  -  field. 
"  Happy  the  man  who  has  his  quiver 
full  of  them."  Happy  the  teacher 
whose  fidelity  and  skill  draw  crowds  of 
ingenuous  youth  to  his  presence,  who 


0  THE    ARROW. 

has  had  hundreds,  it  may  be  thou- 
sands, shaped  by  his  wise  and  loving 
hands  to  stand  as  faithful  sentinels  on 
perilous  outposts  of  duty,  to  guard 
the  intrenchments  of  truth,  to  face 
error  on  the  open  field,  or  to  plan  for 
new  and  more  effective  assault. 

It  is  a  striking  coincidence  that, 
answering  exactly  to  the  beautiful 
simile  of  the  Jewish  king,  there  is 
found  among  the  Chinese  the  no 
doubt  earlier  saying  that,  "  When  a 
son  is  born  into  a  house,  a  bow  and 
arrow  are  hung  before  the  door." 

Prudent  people  of  the  world  are 
sometimes  heard  to  express  wonder 
that  men  who  might  "  do  so  much 
better"  in  business  or  in  other  profes- 
sions   should   be  contented  with  the 


THE    ARROW.  -j 

small  and  often  insignificant  returns 
they  receive  as  pastors  and  teachers. 
These  worldly-wise  objectors  remind 
us  of  the  good  King  Alfred's  hostess 
in  the  peasant's  hut,  who  upbraided 
the  king  for  not  attending  to  the 
cakes  which  she  had  left  him  to  turn. 
And  what  was  the  explanation  of  the 
king's  neglect? 

It  was  that  he  was  fashioning  his 
arrows  for  another  and  more  deter- 
mined battle  with  the  Danes,  those 
insolent  attackers  from  beyond  the 
sea  of  his  beloved  England,  and  of 
his  own  rightful   but  disputed  throne. 

It  was  that  his  thoughts  were  l)usy, 
just  th(  n,  with  something  more  im- 
portant than  cakes. 


I. 

THE  OUTFIT. 


I. 
THE    OUTFIT. 

In  order  to  do,  \vc  must  have  some- 
thing to  do  with ;  something  exter- 
nal to  our  purpose,  and  at  the  same 
time  adapted  to  its  accomplishment. 
These  two  ideas  of  externality  and 
adaptability  give  us  the  word  "outfit." 
As  coming  between  the  two  extremes 
of  purpose  and  accomplishment,  they 
give  us  the  word  "  means." 

Other  things  being  equal,  the  best 

work   will   be-    done   by    those   having 
II 


12  THE    OUTFIT.  [i. 

the  best  means  for  doing  it ;  the  best 
furrowing  by  the  best  plow,  the  best 
weaving  by  the  best  loom,  the  best 
sailing  by  the  best  boat. 

In  nature  it  is  because  the  outfits 
fit  so  exactly,  that  the  results  are  so 
uniformly  perfect.  It  is  because  the 
beaver  has  so  complete  a  dam-build- 
ing outfit  that  he  succeeds  so  perfect- 
ly in  building  his  dam,  the  nautilus 
with  keel  and  canvas  that  he  succeeds 
so  admirably  in  sailing,  and  the  spider 
with  her  spinnerets  and  bag  of  liquid 
silk  that  she  takes  hold  so  deftly  with 
her  hands  and  succeeds  so  defiantly  in 
getting  "  into  the  king's  palace." 

It  follows  from  this  that  improve- 
ment in  outfit  may  be  taken  as  the 
measure  of  improvement  in  product. 


I.J  THE    OUTFIT.  13 

The  ages  of  stone,  of  bronze,  and  of 
iron  mark  the  steps  in  this  advance, 
and  the  tool-maker  has  the  honor  of 
naming  his  epoch.  What  could  the 
journalist  of  the  day  do  without  his 
improved  power-press,  the  biologist 
without  his  microscope,  the  astrono- 
mer without  his  diffraction-plate  and 
speculum,  the  admiral  without  his 
plated  ship?  It  is  in  armories  and 
gun-foundries  that  battles  are  lost  or 
won.  It  was  in  the  ship-yard  that 
the  Puritan  beat  the  Genesta  The 
needle  -  gun  conquered  Austria  at 
Sadowa  and  consolidated  Germany. 
The  better  outfit  gives  a  costly  and 
irritating  backset  to  its  sleepy  and 
outrun  rival.  The  laggard  loom  is 
the  ruin  of  the  belated  mill.     Nolh- 


14  THE    OUTFIT.  [i. 

ing  ages  so  quickly  as  bewildered 
inferiority  of  equipment.  No  such 
capacious  limbo,  outside  of  Milton's, 
as  that  into  which  outdone  machines 
and  methods  are  unpityingly  cast. 
Set  thrones,  if  you  will,  for  the  great 
discoverers,  naval  and  military  com- 
manders, projectors  of  vast  lines  of 
transportation  and  travel,  and  archi- 
tects of  noble  buildings.  But  beside 
them  set  other  thrones  for  the  instru- 
ment-makers, the  handicraftsmen,  the 
mechanics,  without  whose  exact  and 
patient  toil  the  former  had  not  been 
able  to  achieve  either  their  success  or 
their  renown. 

When  Solomon,  so  runs  the  Jewish 
legend,  had  completed  the  great 
Temple,  he  prepared  a  luxurious  ban- 


I.]  THE    OUTFIT.  15 

quet  to  which  he  invited  the  artificers 
who  had  been  employed  in  its  con- 
struction. But  upon  unveiling  the 
throne,  it  was  seen  that  a  stalwart 
smith  with  his  huge  sledge  had 
usurped  the  place  of  honor  at  the 
right  of  the  King's  seat ;  whereupon 
the  people  made  an  outcry,  and  the 
o-uards  rushed  in  to  cut  the  intruder 
down.  "  Hold,  let  him  speak,"  com- 
manded Solomon,  "and  explain  to 
us,  if  he  can,  his  great   presumption." 

"O  King,"  answered  the  smith, 
"  thou  hast  invited  to  the  banquet  all 
the  craftsmen  but  mc.  Yet  how 
could  these  builders  have  reared  the 
Temple  without  the  tools  which  I 
fashioned  ?  " 

"  True,"  exclaimed   the    King,  "  the 


l6  THE    OUTFIT.  [i. 

seat    is    his    by  right.      Let  all   pay- 
honor  to  the  iron-worker." 

What  is  true  of  the  trades  and  of 
the  arts  is  equally  true  of  the  profes- 
sions. The  best  professional  work  is 
done,  other  things  being  equal,  by 
those  who  have  the  best  professional 
outfit.  The  intellect  is  but  an  instru- 
ment. And  as  the  best  mechanical 
and  artistic  results  come  by  use  of 
best  tools,  so  the  best  law-making 
and  law-administering,  the  best  med- 
ical practicing,  the  best  journalizing, 
^  preaching,  and  teaching,  is  done  by 
those  whose  mental  capabilities  are 
best  fitted  by  the  best  training  for 
these  high  and  honorable  tasks.  How 
may  such  an  intellectual  equipment 
be  secured  ? 


I.]  THE    OUTFIT.  ly 

If  you  wish  for  a  set  of  drawing 
or  surgical  instruments,  you  have  but 
to  order  them  of  the  manufacturer, 
and  he  sends  them  to  you  ready 
made.  Yoit  have  no  hand  in  the 
making  of  them.  The  instruments 
have  no  hand  in  shaping  themselves, 
nor  choice  as  to  the  place  where  they 
shall  be  made.  The  ore  has  nothing 
to  do  with  getting  itself  dug  out  of 
the  mine,  nor  the  steel  in  getting 
itself  fashioned  into  the  blade,  nor  the 
blade  in  getting  itself  tempered  and 
ground  to  a  cutting  edge.  The 
quality  of  the  instrument  depends 
not  at  all  on  the  will  or  skill  of  the 
purchaser,  l)ut  wholly  on  the  skill, 
patience,  and  fidelity  of  the  instru- 
ment-maker. 


1 8  rilE    OUTFIT.  [l 

Mind  can  get  itself  shaped  and 
sharpened  after  no  such  ready-made 
fashion.  No  mental  power  is  trained 
to  purpose  by  mere  receptivity.  A 
sun-glass  has  a  certain  heating  quality 
dependent  on  the  quality  of  the  glass 
and  the  convexity  of  its  sides.  It  is 
powerless  to  increase  its  own  heating 
capability.  One  fair  and  full  test, 
and  you  have  tested  your  lens  once 
for  all.  Hold  it  steadily  under  a 
clear  sun.  If  it  fuse  the  metal  or 
ignite  the  wood,  well  and  good.  If 
not,  that  is  the  end.  Repetition  of 
trial  imparts  no  new  igniting  or  fus- 
ing energy. 

Direct  your  mind  to  a  subject,  its 
effectiveness  grows  with  each  exer- 
tion.    Fix  your   thought  steadily  on 


I.]  THE    OUTFIT.  19 

the  algebraic  problem,  or  theorem 
in  Calculus,  or  hard  passage  in  Latin 
or  Greek,  or  abstruse  point  in  mental 
or  moral  philosophy,  or  on  the  theme 
which  you  have  selected  for  )^our  next 
essay,  treatise,  or  oration,  but  which 
utterly  refuses  as  yet  to  get  itself  into 
any  orderly  arr;ingement  of  ideas. 
You  fix  your  thought,  but  nothing 
comes ;  nothing  gives  away.  The 
chip  does  not  even  smoke.  The 
bit  of  lead  gives  no  sign  of  surren- 
der. But  you  by  no  means  give 
up  as  you  gave  up  with  your  once 
tested  and  insufficient  lens.  You 
focus  your  thought  again  on  pre- 
cisely the  same  problem,  theorem, 
or  theme;  possibly  with  no  better 
apparent    success.     Yet  at   each   trial 


20  THE    OUTFIT.  [i. 

your  mental  burning-glass  has  grown 
a  little  stronger,  until  when  perhaps 
you  were  least  expecting  so  delight- 
ful a  surprise,  the  bright  focal  spot 
bursts  all  at  once  into  a  flame,  or 
the  hitherto  stubborn  ingot  melts. 
Then  you  are  ready,  and  only  in  this 
way  can  you  be  ready,  for  a  harder 
problem,  for  a  more  intricate  theorem, 
for  a  more  profound  speculation,  for 
the  analysis  of  a  more  involved 
theme  ;  until  nothing,  at  length,  can 
resist  the  concentrated  heat,  unfused 
and  unresolved. 

There  is  this  advantage  in  having 
done  our  best,  that  if  the  matter  be 
still  obscure,  a  mere  hint  from 
another  suffices  to  make  it  clear. 
When    Judge    Story   was  a  member 


I.]  THE    OUTFIT.  2 1 

of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature, 
one  point  in  a  pending  bill  he  was 
unable,  after  having  given  to  it  his 
best  thought,  to  elucidate.  "  It 
occurred  to  me,"  he  says,  "to  call 
on  my  friend,  Mr.  Webster,  and 
ask  him  to  help  me.  I  stated  my 
difficulty.  After  pacing  the  floor  for 
a  few  minutes  he  said,  '  It  is  this 
way,  is  it  not  ? '  A  sentence  or  two 
was  enough. "  Story  had  already 
made  his  own  thought-solution  so 
strong  that  a  touch  only  of  the 
master's  hand  was  enough  to  make 
the  reluctant  crystals  shoot. 

This  will  serve  to  illustrate  the 
true  idea  in  teaching.  The  truest 
teaching  consists  in  getting  the 
learner  to  do  his  best  on  the  assigned 


22  THE    OUTFIT.  [l 

task,   and    if  he    then  fails,  but  only 
then,  in  helping  him  out. 

It  is  by  faithfully  performing  the 
tasks  assigned  him  in  the  studies  of 
his  Course  that  the  student  trains 
himself  thus  to  penetrate,  resolve, 
combine,  and  develop.  In  a  mind 
so  disciplined  its  possessor  has  an 
instrument  of  almost  universal 
potency.  This  is  the  general  outfit, 
to  be  supplemented  by  such  special 
preparation  as  may  be  suited  to  each 
one's  special  work  in  life.  The  lib- 
eral training  has  already  given  fitness 
to  master  the  problems  in  any  one 
of  the  many  waiting  spheres ;  in  bus- 
iness, finance,  statesmanship,  law, 
medicine,  theology,  sociology,  or 
science.     You    have    by   your   broad 


I.]  THE    OUTFIT.  23 

and  free  culture  developed  a  strong 
brace  into  the  grip  of  whose  stout 
jaws  you  can  fix  any  one  of  a  score 
of  bits,  and  by  the  sweep  of  whose 
powerful  arm  you  can  drive,  or  ream, 
or  bore,  as  you  will.  The  leverage  of 
your  freely-revolving  brace  is  the 
liberal  education  lying  back  of  the 
technical  or  professional  bit,  and 
giving  to  that  its  greatest  efficiency 
and  proudest  triumph.  Your  merely 
technical  man  is  a  bit  without  the 
brace.  The  pugilist  whose  aim  is  to 
deliver  the  most  telling  blow  with  his 
clenched  fist  would  deliver  but  a  com- 
paratively feeble  blow,  were  he  to 
develop  only  the  muscles  of  his  arm. 
Instead  of  that,  he  puts  into  (raining 
his  whole   physique  from  top  to  toe. 


24  THE    OUTFIT.  [l. 

Then  into  his  clenched  hand  goes 
the  accumulated  might  of  his  entire 
and  symmetrically  developed  body. 

But  in  order  to  this  ripe  and 
well-rounded  mental  development  is 
not  the  time  spent  in  the  Preparatory 
School  and  in  the  College  unnecessa- 
rily long  ?  May  not  the  Classics  be 
dropped,  and  with  them  philosophy 
and  a  good  part  of  the  mathematics, 
and  studies  having  a  more  direct 
bearing  on  the  life-work  of  the 
student  be  put  in  their  place  ?  Why 
take  still  the  same  old  tedious  route 
to  the  Indies,  now  that  the  Suez 
Canal  is  bracketed  in  the  newer  cata- 
logues of  commerce  as  an  easy-going 
■'  elective  "  with  the  Cape  ? 

That  will  do  certainly,  provided  you 


I.]  THE    OUTFIT.  25 

can  carry  a  man  through  college  as 
a  bale  of  cotton  is  carried  half  around 
the  world  in  the  hold,  or  as  a  passen- 
ger is  carried  in  the  cabin. 

Given  a  finished  ship,  and  the  pilot 
may  find,  if  he  can,  a  short  and  easy 
course.  But  how  is  your  finished 
ship  to  be  had  ?  It  is  made  to  order 
throughout,  from  stem  to  stern.  It 
is  not  only  begun  on  the  stocks,  but 
it  stands  stock-still  till  it  is  finished — 
made  wholly  what  it  is  by  forge  and 
foundry,  by  adze,  plane,  saw,  and 
sledge.  But  if  only  the  miniature 
model  of  a  ship,  it  be  pushed  out  into 
the  water,  and  if  it  can  grow  to  be  a 
strong  and  perfect  ship  only  l)y  sail- 
ing, then  it  must  sail  longer,  and  must 
longer  feci  the  bullet  of  wind  and  wave. 


26  THE    OUTFIT.  [t. 

The  question  of  the  multiplication 
of  "electives,"  especially  in  the 
earlier  part  of  the  college  course,  re- 
solves itself,  then,  into  the  question 
of  a  fuller  or  more  slender  outfit.  If 
the  student  and  his  friends  are  not 
particular  about  that,  they  need  not 
be  about  the  studies  of  the  course. 
My  own  conviction  is  that  what  is 
most  needed  in  our  schools  and 
colleges  is  not  a  larger  proportion  of 
"elective  studies,"  but  a  larger  pro- 
portion of  students  who  shall  elect  to 
study  / 


II. 

TEACHING,  A  FINE  ART. 


II. 
TEACHING,  A   FINE   ART. 

I.   Four  things  are  necessary  to  con- 
stitute any  occupation  an  art. 

I.  Art  implies  some  want,  physical 
or  mental,  real  or  imaginary,  to  be 
met ;  some  demand  of  necessity,  com- 
fort, or  luxury,  to  be  supplied.  As 
springing  from  desire,  it  is  opposed  to 
indifference.  As  striving  to  gratify 
desire,  it  is  opposed  to  indolence. 
As  working  toward  a  clcarly-dcfincd 

object,  it  is  opposed  to  mere  business 
39 


30  TEACHING,  A    FINE    ART.  [ii. 

or  occupation.  It  is  not  cfTort  in  the 
dark  or  at  random.  If  teaching  be 
an  art,  it  has  a  definite  end. 

2.  But  aiming  at,  or  even  securing, 
a  desired  result  does  not  of  itself  con- 
stitute art.  You  may  get  what  you 
want  by  one  trial,  but  not  by  another. 
A  dairy-woman  put  ice  in  her  cream 
in  July,  and  the  butter,  she  said, 
"  came  beautifully."  She  tried  the 
same  thing  in  August,  and  the  butter 
did  not  come  at  all.  Plainly  she  had 
not  mastered  the  art  of  butter-making. 
Art  is  uniform  method  reaching  uni- 
form result.  It  implies  that  what  has 
been  done  once  can  be  done  again  in 
the  same  way.  And  this  implies  that 
it  can  be  taught  and  learned.  You 
can    not    merely  do    the    thing,   you 


II. J  TEACHING.  A    FINE    ART.  31 

can  tell  others  how  it  is  done. 
Every  art  has,  therefore,  or  may  have 
its  manuals,  institutes,  teachers,  and 
models. 

Exalting  experiment  to  the  rank  of 
art  is  quackery.  The  quack  imagines 
that  because  one  thing  has  followed 
another  once  or  twice,  it  must  always 
so  follow.  If  he  fails,  he  introduces 
the  idea  of  luck.  But  his  success  is, 
in  truth,  as  much  a  matter  of  luck  as 
his  failure.  Now,  art  is  opposed  to 
both  empiricism  and  luck.  It  is 
reliable.  It  does  not  break  down 
unaccountably  in  its  calculations.  If 
teaching  be  an  art,  the  teacher  is  no 
quack.  It  is  not  a  matter  of  chance 
whether  he  teaches  well  or  not. 

3.   It  is  charactcrtisic  of  art   that  it 


32  TEACH  INC.  A    FINE    ART.  [ll. 

is  founded  on  and  embodies  science. 
Tliere  is  a  reason  for  its  processes,  a 
philosophy  in  its  results.  Its  methods 
are  not  blind,  arbitrary,  mysterious. 
There  is  in  them  a  nice  adaptation  of 
means  to  the  end  ;  the  means  being 
in  exact  accordance  with  the  nature 
of  the  materials  and  forces  employed. 
It  is  true  that  a  thing  may  be  done 
well  and  yet  done  by  men  who  can 
give  no  reason  for  their  methods. 
"  Explain  to  me  the  principle  of  the 
water-wheel  you  make  here,"  I  once 
said  to  the  foreman  of  a  large  factory. 
He  replied :  "  I  employ  eighty 
men,  and  not  one  of  them  can  tell 
any  thing  about  the  principle  on 
which  the  wheel  is  constructed.  I 
can  not  tell,  nor  could  the   inventor 


II.]  TEACHING,  A    FIXE    ART.  33 

himself  tell."  It  was  of  another 
excellent  wheel,  invented  by  an  un- 
scientific man,  that  a  learned  scientist 
said  :  "  It  goes,  but  it  oughtn't  to!" 
Farmers  of  olden  times  did  many 
things  as  well  as  we,  although  they 
knew  nothing  of  the  philosophy  of 
their  farming.  The  "  Georgics "  of 
Virgil's  unscientific  time  may  be 
studied  to  advantage  by  the  farmers 
of  to-day. 

For  thousands  of  years  art  made 
progress  through  experiment  alone. 
All  her  maxims  and  formulas  were 
the  steady  accretions  of  patient  but 
unintelligent  trial.  If  a  certain  way 
of  doing  a  thing  was  found  to  work 
well,  that  was  enough.  But  it  is  not 
enough   for  us.     We    wish   to    know 


34  TEACHING,  A    FINE    ART.  [ii. 

not  only  how  a  thing  is  done,  but 
why  it  is  so  done.  And  we  arc  not 
satisfied  until  we  do  know\  Now, 
the  farmer  wants  to  kfiow  why  lime 
is  good  for  wheat,  and  the  intelligent 
housewife  wants  to  know  why  it  is 
that  yeast  makes  her  bread  to  rise. 
What  but  the  science  of  chemistry 
can  tell  whether  the  butter  came  in 
July  on  account  of  the  ice  or  in  spite 
of  it  ? 

4.  But  on  what  does  science  itself 
depend  ?  This  brings  us  to  that 
which  is  fundamental  in  art ;  and  that 
is,  uniformity  in  the  nature  of  the 
materials  with  which  she  works,  and 
uniformity  in  the  operation  of  natural 
forces  and  agents.  It  is  because 
collodion     is    always     collodion,   and 


ii.j  TEACHING,  A    FINE    ART.  35 

because  light  is  always  light,  that 
photography  is  an  art. 

Art,  then,  is  uniform  method 
securing  uniform  result  ;  and  this 
uniformity  of  method  and  result  de- 
pends on  the  invariable  qualities  of 
those  substances  and  forces  with 
which  art  has  to  do. 

Let  us  apply  these  tests  to  teaching. 

And,  first,  has  the  teacher  in  view 
any  clearly-ascertained,  distinctly-com- 
prehended, well-defined  end  } 

Here  are  two  infants  that  give 
scarcely  any  sign  beyond  the  signs  of 
mere  animal  existence ;  their  mental 
powers  undiscoverablc  by  even  the 
keenest  observation ;  in  such  deli- 
cate miniature  arc  tlicy  traced  and 
infolded.      I'ut    fifty   years    f)ass,    and 


36  TEACHING,  A    FINE    ART.  [ii. 

we  see  Milton  pluming  his  mighty 
wing, 

To  fly  at  infinite,  and  reach  it  there, 
Where  seraphs  gather  immortality. 

We  see  Newton  standing  like  a  colos- 
sal angel  with  his  head  among  the 
stars,  taking  in  at  a  glance  the  illimit- 
able sweep  of  worlds  with  all  their 
variety  and  intricacy  of  movement, 
striking  the  balance  of  perturbations 
of  cycles  in  duration  and  reading  the 
laws  of  change  and  permanence  as 
though  they  were  but  the  alphabet  of 
the  heavens.  All  this  is  but  an  ex- 
pansion of  what  was  at  first  small  and 
weak.  This  is  the  province  and 
proof  of  wise  educational  training. 
Not  that  all  can  by  the  wisest  and 
best    training    be    made    Miltons   or 


II.]  TEACHING,  A    FINE    ART.  37 

Newtons.  It  was  a  mistaken  and 
misleading  modesty  which  led  New- 
ton to  say  that  "  patient  thought "  was 
all  that  made  the  difference  between 
him  and  other  men.  It  was  not 
"patient  thinking"  alone  that  made 
Newton  what  he  was.  It  was  New- 
ton thinking  patiently.  We  need  not, 
however,  be  Miltons  and  Newtons  in 
order  that  we  may  be  very  happy  and 
very  useful.  We  are  simply  to  use 
faithfully  the  talents  God  has  en- 
trusted to  us.  And  this  right  and 
full  development  is  the  primary  object 
of  education. 

I  know  that  this  view  is  objected 
to  by  some  who  call  it  the  selfish 
theory,  making  all  a  man's  efforts 
center    in    himself    to   see   how    wis'- 


38  TEACHING,  A    FINK    ART.  [ii. 

and  strong  and  superior  he  can  be- 
come. With  these  objectors  educa- 
tion means,  not  the  "  drawing  out  " 
of  the  mind's  powers,  but  the  "  lead- 
ing of  them  forth  "  to  the  practical 
duties  and  utilities  of  life.  I  say  so 
too,  only  I  would  combine  the  ety- 
mologies. The  powers  must  first  be 
"  drawn  out "  that  you  may  have 
powers  to  "lead  forth."  It  may  be 
"  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  re- 
ceive," but  we  must  receive  before  we 
can  give.  We  are  incredulous  of  the 
wonders  of  precocity.  The  story  of 
the  infant  Hercules  strangling  the 
snake  in  his  cradle  is  not  history,  but 
mythology. 

The    teacher    who    does    not    see 
clearly  whither  his  teaching  is  tending 


II.]  TEACHING,  A    FINE    ART.  y^ 

is  not  an  artist.  If  any  thing  good 
or  great  comes  from  his  teaching,  it 
is  no  thanks  to  him.  He  is  innocent 
of  intending  any  thing  great,  and  will 
be  as  much  surprised  as  anybody- 
should  such  a  result  follow.  As  a 
boy  will  whittle  away  with  nothing 
in  his  head  he  wishes  to  make  or 
thinks  of  making,  but  comes  to  you, 
by  and  by,  to  admire  the  very  ambig- 
uous horse  he  has,  as  he  thinks,  in- 
geniously carved,  so  many  a  toiling 
teacher  hopes  that  some  good  will, 
in  some  way  or  other,  come  from 
his  wearisome  daily  routine  of  dutv. 
But  what  that  good  is,  precisely,  he 
does  not  know.  With  him  tcachinj^ 
is  simply  occupation  ;  a  g<>>ing  through 
the  formalities  of  the  class-room,  for 


40  TEACHING,  A    FINE    ART.  [ii. 

doing  which  with  a  tolerable  degree 
of  regularity  he  gets  so  much  pay. 

But  does  teaching  meet  the  second 
requisite  of  art  ?  Is  there  any  fixed, 
reliable,  uniform  way  of  calling  out 
by  exercise  and  discipline,  so  as  to 
strengthen  and  mature  harmoniously, 
the  faculties  of  the  pupil's  mind  ? 
Many  are  inclined  to  think  not. 
Their  impression  is  that  the  success- 
ful management  of  a  school  or  college 
is  rather  a  haphazard  affair ;  that  a 
good  teacher  is  a  rare  and  fortunate, 
but  inexplicable,  phenomenon  ;  that 
success  comes  more  from  knacU  than 
any  thing  else.  What  we  often  hear 
is  that  he  or  she  "has  a  wonderful 
knack  at  interesting  his  or  her 
scholars,  and  getting  them  to  learn." 


n.]  TEACHING,  A    FIXE    ART.  41 

Now,  if  this  be  the  true  state  of  the 
case,  then  teaching  is  not  an  art.  Wc 
who  claim  that  it  is  one,  must  be  able 
to  tell  how  the  thing  is  done.  There 
must  be  uniform  method. 

And  I  affirm  that  we  can  tell,  and 
that  there  is  such  method.  And 
we  maintain  this  by  referring,  as  in 
the  physical  arts,  to  the  science  of 
teaching  ;  by  examining  the  materials 
on  which  wc  are  to  work,  and  the 
agents,  forces,  and  influences  to  be 
employed.  If  wc  find  these  to  be 
uniform,  the  point  is  gained. 

In  this  inquiry  we  shall  be  assisted 
by  noticing,  at  the  outset,  an  obvious 
distinction  in  the  methods  of  the 
different  departments  of  mechanical 
and  professional  skill. 


42  TEACHING,  A    FINE    ART.  [ii. 

1.  Some  deal  only  with  inert,  ])as- 
sive  materials.  The  materials  lie  in 
your  hand  or  on  your  bench,  and  you 
can  do  any  thing  you  choose  with 
them.  You  can  cut  and  carve  at 
your  pleasure.  They  oppose  nothing 
to  your  operations;  they  contribute 
nothing.  They  neither  help  nor 
hinder.  This  is  the  lowest  form  of 
art,  and  these  branches  of  it  we  call 
trades.  They  give  exercise,  however, 
to  much  taste  and  skill. 

2.  Another  class  depends  largely 
on  mechanical  or  chemical  forces. 
They  deal  not  only  with  substances, 
but  with  powers.  Such  are  the  tel- 
egraphic and  photographic  arts,  and 
the  manufacture  and  use  of  steam 
and  electric  engines.    Here  subtle  and 


II.]  TEACHING,  A    FINE    ART.  43 

powerful  agents  are  employed ;  agents 
working  according  to  fixed  condi- 
tions, which  must  be  ascertained  and 
complied  with,  or  there  is  no  success. 
These  branches  of  mechanism  require, 
in  general,  a  finer  eye,  greater  judg- 
ment, and  more  careful  manipulation 
and  adjustment.  The  distinguishing 
mark  of  effectiveness  in  this  class  is 
the  subsidizing  of  mechanical  power. 

3.  A  third  class  depends  for  its 
existence  on  vital  power ;  in  which 
is  concerned  the  agency  of  life  and 
growth.  Under  this  head  comes 
agriculture,  floriculture,  and  horticult- 
ure, where  vegetable  life  is  involved ; 
and  teaching,  where  mental  life  is 
involved. 

Now,  the   method  of  teaching  will 


44  TEACHING,  A    FINE    ART.  [ii. 

be  most  clearly  illustrated  by  the 
methods  employed  in  those  arts  most 
analogous  to  it ;  that  is,  in  those  at 
the  foundation  of  which  lie  the  princi- 
ples of  life  and  growth.  By  attend- 
ing to  these  analogies  we  can  not 
fail  to  get  a  clear  understanding  of 
the  true  mode  of  mental  culture. 

The  first  and  most  important  thing 
to  be  considered  is  that  the  mind  of 
the  pupil  is  a  living  agent,  and  that  its 
proper  growth  is  the  primary  object 
of  education. 

Now,  if  a  tree  is  dead,  there  is  the 
end  of  it.  You  may  put  it  in  the 
finest  orchard,  and  give  it  the  best 
attention;  you  may  enrich,  prune,  and 
protect  it  till  doomsday;  it  will  do  no 
good.      You    give  the    tree  nourish- 


n.j  TEACHING,  A    FINE    ART.  45 

ment,  but  there  is  no  life  to  take  it 
up,  digest,  and  assimilate  it.  You 
can  not  go  behind  the  bark  and  create 
life.  You  may  bruise,  scarify,  and 
peel ;  it  is  of  no  avail.  So  in  the 
class-room.  Once  in  a  while  you 
come  across  a  pupil  who  seems  to 
have  no  intellectual  life.  He  has  no 
idea  of  study,  and  no  sort  of  relish 
for  it.  If  he  docs  any  thing  at  all,  it 
is  not  because  he  has  the  slightest 
interest  in  his  task.  Here  is  need 
of  wisdom  and  patience.  You  must 
know  when  and  how  to  simplify  or 
vary  the  task  so  as  to  make  it  attract- 
ive. By  gentle  methods,  by  holding 
over  such  a  mind  the  glass  of  kind- 
ness, and  concentrating  on  it  the 
warm   rays    of  an  enlightened,   affec- 


46  TEACHING,  A    FINE    ART.  [ii. 

lionate,  and  patient  interest,  you  will 
call  the  slow-sprouting  germ  forth ; 
and  when  you  see  signs  of  spontane- 
ous activity,  your  work  is  well  begun. 
But  from  the  very  first  the  faculties, 
so  soon  as  born,  must  begin  to  grow. 
And  things  grow  only  by  eating. 
Now,  there  is  no  eating  that  amounts 
to  much  without  an  appetite.  There 
is  no  hearty  devouring  of  knowledge 
without  an  appetite  for  knowledge. 
But  this  appetite  is,  normally,  a  part 
of  our  constitution,  and  in  it  the 
Creator  has  laid  the  foundation  for 
the  teacher's  success.  But  the  appe- 
tite is  sometimes  feeble,  and  then 
what  is  to  be  done  ?  You  must  not 
force  food  upon  it.  That  is  the  way 
to  destroy  what  little  appetite  there 


II.]  TEACHING,  A    FIXE    ART.  47 

is.     Many  a  lad   has  been  nauseated 
by  forcing  food  down  his  throat  for 
which   he   had  not  the  shghtest  rehsh. 
We  tempt  a  feeble  appetite  by  serv- 
ing up  some  delicate  morsel.     So  will 
the  skillful  teacher  tempt  the  appetite 
of  the  slow  pupil    by  pleasant    anec- 
dote  and  easy  explanation  ;  by  time- 
ly   and    patient    assistance.       Depend 
upon   it,  the  great  thing  is  to  get  up 
an   appetite.      Get  the   mind's  diges- 
tion fairly  at  work.      Yoiw  work  will 
be    easy    and    delightful    after      that. 
You  have  then  only  to  set   the  table 
and  put   on  the  dishes.     I  remember 
going     once     into    a    planing     mill. 
There  was  a  mighty  power  at  work 
there.     The    machine   had    a   tremen- 
dous   appetite    for    lumber.      All    the 


<j.8  TEAC/ilXu,  A    FINE    ART.  [ii. 

man  had  to  do  was  to  feed  it ;  or, 
rather,  he  had  merely  to  place  the 
boards  before  it  and  guide  them.  The 
machine  fed  itself.  It  had  a  mighty 
bite.  This  bite  is  what  the  true 
scholar  has.  He  will  seize  and  de- 
vour knowledge  if  it  be  placed  rightly 
in  his  way.  See  what  an  appetite  a 
vigorous  tree  has.  Consider  the 
astonishing  force  with  which  it  draws 
up  to  the  topmost  leaf  of  the  topmost 
bough  nourishment  from  the  root. 
This  is  the  first,  the  indispensable 
thing  in  successful  teaching ;  to  get 
the  student  interested  in  his  studies. 
And  the  only  way  to  do  this  is  to  get 
him  to  7tsc  his  faculties.  The  mind 
finds  pleasure  in  its  own  activity.  The 
teacher,    therefore,    will     be     careful 


II.]  TEACHI.VG,   A    FIXE    ART.  45 

never  to  overtask  that  faculty  whose 
growth  he  would  foster.  Here  comes 
in  the  principle  of  correct  classifica- 
tion. Pupils  whose  faculties  are  in 
about  the  same  stage  of  development 
should  be  classed  together ;  so  that 
there  is  sound  philosophy  in  our 
graded  system  in  this  respect. 

The  meaning  of  this  system  is  that 
the  teacher  is  to  exercise  his  skill  in 
introducing  a  pupil  to  a  new  study  at 
the  proper  time,  or  so  soon  as  he  is 
ready  for  it,  and  not  before.  Differ- 
ent faculties  arc  awakened  at  differ- 
ent times ;  perception,  mcmor)%  and 
imagination  early,  the  reason  later, 
and  the  reflective  faculty  last  of  all. 
Now  wait  until  the  faculty  is  born 
before   you    set    it    to    work.        It    is 


50  TEACHING,  A    FINE    ART.  [n. 

worse  than  lost  time  ambitiously  to 
attempt  grammar  or  geometry,  the 
Calculus  or  metaphysics  too  soon. 
From  lack  of  discernment  here,  great 
harm  is  often  done.  Nature  incu- 
bates her  own  capabilities.  Study 
the  period  of  incubation,  and  then 
nurse  the  offspring. 

I  must  dwell  a  moment  on  the  im- 
portance of  this  second  direction,  to 
make  the  newly-awakened  faculty 
work.  Take  the  logical  or  reasoning 
faculty.  What  is  food  for  that  ? 
Mathematics,  arithmetic,  algebra,  ge- 
ometry. Now,  that  faculty  must  be 
led  to  do  its  own  proper  work,  and 
not  allowed,  as  is  often  done,  to  shirk 
it  off  upon  the  memory.  The  reason 
must  be  made  to  reason.     The  pupil 


II.]  TEACHING,  A    FIXE    AK'J:  gj 

should  never  be  taught,  encouraged, 
or  allowed  to  work  by  mere  rule, 
without  understanding  the  principle. 
In  arithmetic  the  prime  point  is  not 
how  many  examples  the  scholar  can 
work ;  nor  in  geometry  how  many 
theorems  he  can  repeat,  but  does  he 
understand  the  methods  of  solution 
and  proof  .^  The  question  here  is 
not  merely  what  can  you  do,  but  what 
arc  you.'*  The  verb  "  to  be"  comes 
first  in  practical  importance,  as  it 
comes  first  in  our  grammars,  and  is 
auxiliary  to  all  verbs  of  action.  Arc 
you  a  good  arithmetician  or  alge- 
braist }  You  may  work  a  mulitude 
of  examples  and  not  be  cither.  If 
all  your  capital  is  invested  in  exam- 
ples,  carefully    recorded    in    a    blank- 


52  TEACIII.VG,  A    FINE    ART.  [il. 

book,  or  simply  in  a  memorizing  of 
the  rules,  it  will  yield  you  a  meager 
interest.  But  invest  in  principles, 
and  they  will  afford  you  a  magnificent 
income.  Rules,  then.,  become  your 
servants ;  otherwise  they  are  your 
imperious  masters.  The  man  of  rules 
must  remember  and  scrupulously  fol- 
low the  directions  of  the  guide  who 
has  kindly  volunteered  them.  He 
must  remember  and  take  the  first 
left-hand  road  till  he  comes  to  the 
creek  ;  then  take  up  the  hill  to  the 
right,  and  on  to  the  cross-roads  ;  then 
to  the  left  again  ;  the  second  frame 
house  on  the  corner  is  the  answer. 
The  man  of  principles  has  a  compass. 
He  knows  the  general  direction.  He 
has  a  map  of  the  country,  and  can  go 


II.]  TEACHIXG,   A    FIXE    ART.  53 

where  he  chooses.  He  can  thread 
the  forest ;  he  can  follow  the  brook 
up  the  ravine  ;  he  can  follow  a  bee 
to  her  hive  in  a  hollow  tree ;  he  can 
double  the  largest  clearing,  and  yet 
come  out  right  at  last.  He  keeps 
his  bearings  and  distances  all  along. 
Of  all  that  comes  within  the  survey 
of  that  principle  he  is  complete  mas- 
ter. The  man  of  rules  dare  not  set 
foot  out  of  the  prescribed  path.  He 
is  blind,  must  be  led  by  a  string,  and 
dare  not  let  go  lest  he  be  lost. 

SCHOOL    GOVERNMENT. 

The  analogy  I  have  used  of  mental 
appetite  and  digestion  serves  very 
well  to  illustrate  further  the  art  and 
measure    of   school    j/ovcrnmcnt.      A 


54  TEACHING,  A    FINE    ART.  [ii. 

man  ought  not  to  be  disturbed  at  his 
meals.  But  the  mind's  mouth  is 
attention.  All  knowledge  enters  by 
that.  To  keep  the  attention  of  the 
scholar  from  hindering  distractions  is 
the  object  aimed  at  in  school  or  col- 
lege arrangements  and  regulations. 
Attention  must  not  be  unfixed  nor 
made  difficult  by  any  thing  without, 
as  by  the  ill-location  of  the  building ; 
nor  by  a  surplus  of  holiday  interrup- 
tions ;  nor  by  any  thing  within,  as  by 
bodily  discomfort,  uncomfortable 
seats,  bad  ventilation,  insufficient 
warmth  or  light ;  or  by  disturbance 
of  the  feelings,  the  indulgence  of 
anger,  resentment,  hatred,  or  other 
evil  or  malign  disposition.  The 
teacher    must    not    put    himself   into 


II.]  TEACHING,  A    FIXE    ART.  55 

antagonism  with  his  pupils,  but  must 
secure  their  love  ;  nor  must  there  be 
mischievous  interference  of  the  pupils 
one  with  another. 

Nor  must  the  teacher  allow  his 
own  mind  to  be  distracted  during  the 
hours  of  instruction.  And  here  I 
would  say  that  if  things  go  wrong, 
let  them  not  chafe  and  fret  you,  nor 
imagine  that  wrong  things  must  be 
rectified  always  on  the  spot.  Take 
time  out  of  school  hours  to  gauge  the 
difficulty  and  contrive  a  suitable 
remedy. 

II.  But  teaching  is  one  of  the  fine 
or  lil)cral,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most 
useful  of  the  arts.  In  a  strictly  use- 
ful art  all  the  products  are  alike ;  or, 
at   least,  the   more   nearly  alike   they 


56  TEACIIIXG,  A    FINE    ART.  [ii. 

arc,  the  more  perfect  the  art  is 
reckoned  to  be.  One  pin  of  the 
row  is  like  all  the  rest.  Waltham  and 
Elgin  watches  are  recommended  on 
the  ground  that  exact  duplicates  of 
each  part  are  "  kept  constantly  on 
hand,"  so  that  if  you  break  or  lose  a 
part  you  can  easily  replace  it.  Not 
so  with  the  productions  of  the  poet, 
painter,  or  sculptor.  The  painter 
makes  each  face  and  each  scene  a 
separate  study.  He  studies  differ- 
ences rather  than  resemblances.  Not 
less  does  the  true  teacher  make  a 
separate  study  of  the  disposition, 
capabihties,  and  possibilities  of  each 
one  of  his  pupils,  and  for  each  one 
has  a  somewhat  different  treatment 
adapted  to  his  peculiar  need. 


II.]  TEACH  I XG,  A    FIXE    ART.  57 

In  the  mechanical  or  useful  arts, 
the  exact  amount  of  labor  is  specified 
as  well  as  the  compensation.  It  is  so 
much  work  for  so  much  money  ;  the 
plastering  so  much  by  the  square 
yard,  the  paper-hanging  so  much  by 
the  piece,  the  masonry  so  much  by 
the  perch,  and  the  measurement  all 
to  the  fraction.  But  how  absurd 
to  order  and  pay  for  a  painting  by 
the  square  yard  or  for  a  statue  b}'^  the 
solid  foot !  No  more  can  the  amount 
of  earnestness  and  enthusiasm  and  in- 
genuity which  a  teacher  shall  put  in- 
to his  work,  i)e  contracted  and  j)aid 
for.  Vet  it  is  often  attempted,  and 
by  a  multitude  of  rigid  and  hamper- 
\x\<^  restrictions,  school  committees 
often  do  all  in  their  power  to  degrade 


58  TEACH  I XG,  A    FINE    ART.  [ii. 

teaching  to  the  level  of  a  trade.  Such 
committees  would  do  well  to  recall 
how  the  penurious  nobleman  fared  at 
the  hands  of  the  celebrated  Hogarth, 
whom  he  persuaded,  after  much 
miserly  chaffering,  to  paint  for  him 
a  picture  of  the  passage  of  the  Red 
Sea  by  the  Israelites.  Called  in  due 
time  to  inspect  the  painting,  the 
nobleman  saw  to  his  amazement  only 
a  plain  water  surface.  "  What  have 
you  here !  "  he  exclaimed  in  anger. 
"Just  what  you  ordered,"  replied 
Hogarth.  "  Yes,  but  where  are  the 
Israelites?"  "They  are  all  gone 
over."  "  But  where  are  the  Egyp- 
tians }  "  "  They  are  all  drowned,  my 
lord." 

The  artist  has  a  marked  advantage 


II.]  TEACHING,  A    FIXE    ART.  59 

in  this,  that  no  one  can  mar  his  work 
but  himself.      The    unfmished  model 
remains  in  the  studio  until   he  recom- 
mences his  toil.     When   the  teacher 
intermits   his   task,    his    model    may 
be  subjected  to  the  strokes  of  rude 
and   careless   hands.       What    painter 
but    would    give  up  in   despair  were 
his  canvas  to  be  touched  and  dashed 
by  a  hundred  pencils  besides  his  own  ! 
Yet   nobler,  by  far,  is   the  teacher's 
work    than    that    of    the   artist.     The 
material  on  which  the  artist's  skill   is 
employed     is     lifeless     matter;     the 
teacher    fashions    a    living,     spiritual 
being.     The    end    of    the    former    is 
attained    by    mechanical    subtraction 
or    accretion ;    of    the    latter    l)y    the 
development    of  a   vital  germ.      The 


6o  TEACHING,   A     FIXE    ART.  [ii. 

artist  strives  to  embody  his  own  con- 
ception ;  the  teacher  to  unfold  the 
involved  purpose  of  the  Creator. 

The  artist's  work  stays  as  he  leaves 
it  at  the  completion  of  his  task  ;  or, 
rather,  under  Time's  effacing  touch  it 
undergoes  from  that  moment  a  slow 
but  sure  decay.  The  importance  of 
each  effort,  therefore,  is  measured  by 
its  relation  to  his  achievement  at  the 
moment  of  its  completion.  That  im- 
portance is  circumscribed  by  the 
limited  duration  of  his  work.  The 
labor  of  the  teacher  ceases  in  its  in- 
fluence, never.  The  mind  which  he 
helps  to  fashion  in  both  its  being  and 
its  progress,  is  eternal. 


III. 
THE   LORDSHIP   OF  LOVE. 


III. 
THE  LORDSHIP  OF  LOVE. 

We  are  born  radicals.  We  like  to 
go  to  the  root  of  things  ;  to  get,  if  we 
can,  at  the  one  central  germ  from 
which  all  grows  and  is  built  up. 
Only  the  most  immature  minds  are 
satisfied  with  mere  results.  It  is 
enough  for  the  little  Budges  to  see 
the  "  wheels  go  wound,"  but  your 
grown  boy  or  girl  wants  to  see  the 
watch  taken  apart,  and  to  be  shown 
separately  each  jewel,   pinion,  wheel, 


64  THE    LORDSHIP    OF   LOl'K.  [in. 

and  screw.  We  have  a  painfully  con- 
fused feeling  at  seeing  a  cotton  mill 
or  a  power  printing-press  in  opera- 
tion, until  we  understand  how  the 
machinery  goes  together,  and  the 
principle  on  which  it  works.  And 
the  shortest  and  surest  way  of  under- 
standing what  at  first  seems  only  a 
tangle  is  to  see  the  machine  in  its 
simplest  form.  Ungear  your  steam- 
engine  ;  look  at  it  uncombined  with 
other  machinery ;  keep  only  what  is 
indispensable ;  you  then  have  an  in- 
strument of  few  parts,  whose  make 
and  manner  of  working  even  a  child 
can  understand. 

A  great  literary  institution  is,  at 
first  sight,  a  complicated  affair.  On 
visiting  such    an    institution  you    arc 


III.]  THE    LORDSHIP    OF    LOVE.  65 

shown  through  a  multitude  of  places 
— halls,  dormitories,  chapels,  cabinets, 
museums,  libraries,  laboratories,  gym- 
nasiums, recitation  and  lecture  rooms. 
Vou  are  taken  to  see  great  old  books 
in  dead  old   tongues  and  parchment 
covers,  meteorites    and    fossils,   skel- 
etons and  manikins,    magnetic    coils 
and  electric   wheels,  transits  and  the- 
odolites, microscopes  and  telescopes, 
gasometers     and     blow-pipes.       The 
vast    and    complex    array    confounds 
you  ;  you    are    overwhelmed    by   the 
magnitude  and   variety  of  the  things 
to  be  learned ;  it  is  a  mystery  to  you 
h(jw  any    man    can     spool    so    many 
threads    of    knowledge     and     weave 
them  all  into  a  consistent  web  ;  you 
have  a  suffering  sense  of  your  igno- 


66  THE    LORDSHIP    OF    LOVE.  [in. 

ranee,  and  a  eolossal  idea  of  the  learn- 
ing which  must  he  represented  by  a 
univereri.ty  diploma.  But  pierce  to 
the  middle,  strip  the  institution  of 
these  material  helps  which  it  has 
taken  centuries,  perhaps,  to  bring 
together,  go  back  to  the  rude  begin- 
nings, and  you  fmd  what  is  almost 
too  simple  for  merely  external 
description.  The  Emperor  Charle- 
magne, on  being  told  that  two  men, 
meanly  clad,  were  crying  at  a 
street  corner,  "  We  have  learning  to 
sell,"  is  said  to  have  ordered  the  two 
men  into  his  presence,  and  to  have 
asked  what  he  could  do  for  them, 
and  on  their  replying,  "  Sii,  give  us 
food,  clothing,  and  scholars,"  to  have 
taken   under   his   patronage    the  two 


HI.]  THE    LORDSHIP    OF    LOVE.  67 

teachers,  one  of  whom  afterward 
became  the  founder  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Pavia. 

Scholars  and  teachers  are  the  two 
essentials  of  every  educational  institu- 
tion. Study  and  helps  to  study  em- 
brace it  all.  Two  of  the  most  famous 
schools  of  their  own  or  of  any  time, 
the  Academy  and  the  Lyceum,  had 
this  embryo  simplicity.  Plato  and 
Aristotle  walked  with  their  pupils 
in  groves  and  gardens,  or  sat  with 
them  in  the  porches  of  villas.  This 
one  living  germ  draws  to  itself  in 
due  time  buildings,  libraries,  appara- 
tus, every  needful  appurtenance.  A 
mind  in  love  with  and  earnestly 
seeking  knowledge  is  at  once  an 
epitome  and  a  prophecy  of  the  acad- 


68  ^V/A'    LORD  SHIP    OF   Lori-:.  [m. 

cmy,   the   college,    the  seminary,  the 
university. 

The  possession  of  a  power  is  itself 
a  pledge  that  a  field  will  be  given  for 
its  exercise  ;  capacity  for  growth,  a 
pledge  that  the  means  of  growth 
will  be  supplied.  Else,  the  power 
and  the  capacity  would  be  but  incon- 
clusive and  mocking  fragments  ;  the 
foundation  of  a  tower  which  could 
not  be  finished.  God  does  not  do 
things  after  that  fashion.  Steam- 
power  proves  the  existence  of  fuel 
without  which  the  steam  could  not 
be  generated.  The  tinkling  lid  of 
the  boiling  tea-kettle  finds  its  echo 
in  the  click  of  the  coal-miner's  pick. 
God  does  nothing  by  halves.  The 
fourth    day's    work    of  creation    was 


iii.J  THE  LORDSHIP    OF    LOVE.  69 

the  logical  sequence  to  that  of  the 
third.  The  making  of  grass,  herbs, 
and  trees  made  it  sure  that  the  sun 
would  follow.  The  nobler  end  shall 
not  fail  for  lack  of  the  less  noble 
means.  The  life  is  more  than  meat. 
The  sunflower  is  more  than  the  sun. 
The  solar  system  might  be  studied 
in  the  violet.  The  acorn  is  a  vest- 
pocket  edition  of  Copernicus  in 
brown  binding  and  tucked  cover. 

The  coming  spring  finds  all  grow- 
ing things  in  attitude  of  eager  expec- 
tation. Under  the  sward  of  meadows 
wakened  lilies  arc  impatient  to  lay 
of!  the  night-dress  of  their  homely 
bulbs,  and  to  put  on  that  unwoven 
beauty  in  the  like  of  which  even 
Solomon    in    all     his   glory    was    no; 


yo  THE    LORDSHIP    OF    LOVE.  [in. 

arrayed.  The  peach  has  set  its 
germs,  and  the  apple  is  in  blossom. 
The  smiling  procession  of  the  flowers, 
with  the  arbutus  at  its  head,  has 
begun  to  move.  The  ivy,  now  scarce 
able  in  the  breeze  to  hold  with  its 
tiny  lingers  to  the  base  of  the  tower, 
hides  an  ambitious  secret  in  its  breast, 
and  trusts  yet  to  pin  a  streamer  on 
the  very  point  of  the  pinnacle.  The 
hillside  laurel  has  planned  to  cover, 
with  a  denser  foliage,  the  rim  and 
sides  of  its  granite  vase.  The  beech 
is  resolved  to  widen  his  green  shelves, 
the  oak  to  stretch  a  cubit  farther  his 
wide-spread  arms,  and  the  cedar  to 
mount  upward  to  the  full  stature 
of  the  forest  king. 

Here  on  the  one  hand  are  manifold 


III.]  THE    LORDSHIP    OF    LOVE.  71 

life,  and  capacity  for  growth.  On 
the  other  is  the  sun,  God's  great  pro- 
vision for  the  quickening  of  this  life, 
and  the  perfecting  of  this  growth. 
And  these  two  are  but  corresponding 
parts  of  one  great  scheme,  joined  to- 
gether in  divine,  indissoluble  wed- 
lock. 

Nor  is  this  scheme  of  divine  be- 
neficence to  be  trifled  or  interfered 
with.  What  God  has  joined  together 
let  no  disgusts  or  jealousies  of  the 
upper  air  put  asunder.  Let  the  life- 
giving  rays  Ijc  unimpeded  in  their 
descent.  Let  them  be  free  to  all  the 
vegetable  tribes  ;  to  the  lowly  as  well 
as  to  the  lofty  ;  to  the  plain  as  well 
as  to  the  beautiful  ;  to  the  frail  as 
well    as    to   the   stalwart.       Let  each 


72  THE    LORDSHIP    OF   LOVE.  [iii. 

take  from  sun,  soil,  rain,  and  dew 
what  is  needful  to  its  fullest  growth, 
its  highest  life.  Let  cloud  and  fog 
monopolies  be  broken  up.  Let  up- 
start vapors  be  dispelled.  Let  the 
sovereignty  be  maintained,  established 
by  God  in  the  beginning,  when  He 
appointed  the  "  greater  light "  to 
"  rule "  as  well  as  irradiate  the  day, 
and  the  "  lesser  light  "  to  "  nile  "  as 
well  as  illuminate  the  night. 

With  greater  emphasis  is  each  de- 
sire and  capability  in  man  a  prevision 
and  pledge  of  provision  and  oppor- 
tunity. 

The  universe  is  but  a  store-house 
for  his  needs.  And  the  universe 
should  be  open  so  that  God's  ca- 
pacities in  all  men  and  in  all  women 


ur.J  THE    LORDSHIP    OF    LOVE.  73 

may  hav^e  freest  access  to  God's  op- 
portunities. 

The  attempt  to  crush  or  to  starve 
any  of  the  mind's  native  capabilities 
or  desires  argues  cither  fraud,  mis- 
guidance, imbecility,  or  oppression. 
The  monastery  and  the  convent,  in 
the  most  charitable  view,  are  monu- 
ments of  weakness.  The  St.  Anio- 
nics, St  Simons,  and  St.  Benedicts, 
Abbots  and  Lady  Superiors,  monks 
and  nuns,  arc  princes  self-discrowned. 
They  make  an  "  open,  unconditional 
rupture "  with  desires  and  capabilities, 
in  themselves  innocent,  and  sacrifice 
freedom  and  dominion  to  an  "  ener- 
getic, but  mistaken,  idea  of  sclfcon- 
trol." 

Let  clean  riddance  be  made  of  that 


74  THE    LORDSHIP    OF    LOVE.  [in. 

tyranny,  whether  of  ecclesiasticism, 
custom,  prejudice,  or  law,  which  cuts 
off  any  power  of  any  man  or  of  any 
woman  on  its  way  to  provision  ;  any 
capacity  of  man  or  woman  on  its 
way  to  opportunity  ;  which  inter- 
cepts the  poor  on  their  way  to  wealth, 
the  ignorant  on  their  way  to  knowl- 
edge, the  erring  on  their  way  to  truth. 
It  is  a  great  point  already  gained, 
the  taking  away  of  so  many  barriers, 
and  the  opening  to  all  of  so  many 
avenues  to  growth,  culture,  discipline, 
cind  usefulness,  and  especially  for 
woman.  Mrs.  Montague,  as  quoted 
by  Mrs.  Fawcett  in  Good  Words, 
wrote  in  1773  about  the  education  of 
her  eldest  niece :  "  I  am  glad  you 
are  going  to  send  my  eldest  niece  to 


III.]  THE    LORDSHIP    OF   LOVE.  75 

a  boarding-school.  I  believe  all 
boarding-schools  are  much  on  the 
same  plan,  so  that  you  may  place  the 
)'oung  lady  wherever  there  is  a  good 
air  and  a  good  dancing-master."  An- 
other favorite  theory  was  that  a 
woman  was  good  mainly  to  work 
button  -  holes  and  slipper  -  patterns. 
"  Between  those  old  ideas  of  feeble- 
ness, prettiness,  and  dependence,  and 
the  perfect  woman  of  this  era, 
endowed  with  endurance,  foresight, 
strength,  and  skill,  there  is  a  tremen- 
dous chasm."  But  what  the  real 
capacity  of  woman  is,  can  be  known, 
as  Mrs.  Fawcett  says,  only  after  long 
experience.  "  The  notions  that  all 
men  are  logical  and  all  women  emo- 
tional ;  that  women  arc  much  (juicker 


y6  THE    LORDSHir    OF    LOVE.  [m. 

at  coming  at  a  conclusion,  but  can 
not  tell  how  they  arrived  at  it,  are  in 
process  of  giving  way,  and  have  com- 
pletely given  way  in  those  who  at 
Girton  College  and  Ncwnham  Hall 
(the  woman's  colleges  in  Cambridge, 
England)  have  had  opportunity  of 
comparing  the  powers  of  the  young 
women  who  are  students  there,  with 
the  powers  of  the  graduates  of 
the  university.  These  gentlemen 
have  found  that  the  young  women 
differ  intellectually  from  the  young 
men  less  than  had  been  supposed, 
and  in  a  different  direction.  The 
logical  faculty  of  the  young  women 
is  much  greater,  their  power  of  so- 
called  intuitive  perception  is  much 
less  than  had  been  anticipated.    Some 


til. J  THE    LORDSHIP    OF    LOVE.  'j-j 

years,  however,  must  elapse  before  a 
really  fair  comparison  can  be  made 
between  the  intellectual  capacity  of 
men  and  women." 

I  have  myself  the  conviction  that 
women  can  be  trusted  as  safely  as 
men  to  decide  for  themselves  what 
spheres  they  can  fill  and  what  voca- 
tions it  is  suitable  for  them  to  follow. 
I  do  not  think  they  are  likely  to 
make  any  worse  mistakes  than  men, 
many  of  whom  choose  spheres  and 
follow  callings  not  altogether  credit- 
able to  their  instincts  nor  honorable 
to  their  manhood.  The  safe  way  for 
a  true  woman,  as  for  a  true  man,  is, 
if  she  finds  any  thing  she  herself 
thinks  it  i)ropcr  to  do,  and  thinks  her- 
self qualified  to  do,  to  do  it. 


^S  'J'llI^    LORDSHIP    OF    LOVE.  [iii. 

A  woman  may  seem  to  be  out  of 
her  sphere  for  a  time,  simply  because 
it  is  a  time  of  transition  in  public 
sentiment.  But  this  may  be  only  to 
find  her  element  at  a  higher  stage ; 
just  as  the  boats  on  one  of  the  great 
water-ways  of  New  Jersey  are  seen 
for  a  brief  interval  riding  on  inclined 
planes  through  the  air,  only  to  take 
the  water  again  at  a  higher  level. 

11.  But  what  shall  we  do  with  our 
education  now  that  we  have  gotten  it } 
or  rather,  what  shall  we  do  with  our 
educated  selves  7  If  the  King  sends 
you  seeds  of  beautiful  and  rare 
flowers,  you  know  what  he  expects 
you  to  do  with  the  seeds.  He  expects 
you  to  grow  the  flowers.  But  he  also 
expects  that  you  will  do   something 


III.]  THE    LORDSHIP    OF   LOVE.  -g 

with  the  flowers  after  they  are  grown : 
that  you  will  place  them  where  their 
beauty  and  fragrance  can  be  enjoyed. 
A  ship-owner  does  not  leave  a  strong 
and  beautiful  ship  to  rot  upon  the 
stocks,  nor  does  he  tow  it  into  a  dry- 
dock,  content  to  hang  on  its  side  a 
certificate  that  the  ship  is  built  after 
the  most  scientific  pattern,  and  has 
been  examined  and  approved  by  a 
competent  inspector.  He  builds  it 
for  sailing.  He  launches  it  and  sails 
it  on  waters  where  it  can  sail  best  and 
be  of  most  service ;  whether  it  be 
lake,  river,  sound,  or  ocean ;  whether  to 
coast  along  our  own  shores,  or  whether 
it  be  a  Morm'ng-  Star  to  bear  glad 
messages  to  far-off  islands  of  the  sea. 
The  vital    (|Ucstion    reacliing  far  be- 


8o  THE    LORDSHIP    OF    LOVE.  [iii. 

yond  mere  details  and  incidents  of 
spheres  and  occupations  is,  what  prin- 
ciple shall  actuate  us,  whatever  the 
sphere  or  employment  may  be  ?  The 
incidents  of  an  ocean  voyage  may  be 
indefinitely  varied.  The  question  is, 
Is  the  ship  headed  to  the  right  port, 
and  are  we  keeping  her  steadily  to 
her  course  ?  Newman  Hall  says  that 
in  his  return  voyage  to  England,  a 
bevy  of  birds  accompanied  the  ship  ; 
that  they  made  frequent  and  some- 
times wide  excursions  to  one  side  and 
the  other  of  the  ship's  course,  but  that 
they  always  returned  and  alighted  on 
the  vessel's  masts  or  yards,  and  so 
completed  the  voyage  with  the  ship. 
What  is  the  one  high,  controlling 
purpose    which    we    may    continually 


III.]  THE    LORDSHIP    OF   LOVE.  8l 

come  back  to  from  our  daily  bread- 
winning;  from  our  aesthetic,  scientific 
or  literary  excursions  ?  The  purpose 
which  shall  give  us  dominion  and  a 
certain  independence  over  all  these 
busy  flights,  and  Vv^hich  survives  them 
all;  an  aim  and  a  purpose  which  find 
their  glad  and  glorious  accomplish- 
ment when  the  port  is  gained,  and 
the  wings  are  peacefully  folded  with 
the  folded  sails. 

Such  purpose  is  possible  by  virtue 
of  our  beinir  endowed  with  moral 
affections ;  and  by  this  I  mean,  gener- 
ically,  the  power  we  have  of  devot- 
ing our  v/hole  selves  in  whatever 
direction  we  wish,  to  whatsoever 
pursuit  or  person.  The  fundamental 
idea    in    the  affections  is  choice,  and 


82  THE    LORDSHIP    OF    LOVE.         [in. 

choice  in  its  very  nature  is  free.  This 
power  belongs  to  man  only. 

Man  only,  in  other  words,  has  the 
power,  as  Hickok  says,  to  "  behave  " 
himself  ;  to  have  or  hold  himself  to 
a  course  of  his  own  choosing.  Brutes 
are  held  to  their  respective  courses. 
Man  holds  himself  "  Thou  hast  put 
all  things  under  his  feet.  Thou  hast 
given  him  dominion." 

Where  shall  this  dominion  be 
found  ?  Not  in  the  realm  of  mere 
growth  or  culture.  The  scepter  we 
seek  must  be  a  scepter  that  can 
neither  be  broken  nor  snatched  away 
from  us.  But  that  may  seem  to  be 
free  and  to  have  dominion  which  is 
free,  and  has  dominion  only  for  a 
certain   time  and   place.     Make  your 


III.]  THE    LORDSHIP    OF    LOVE.  83 

prison  limits  as  wide  as  you  please, 
it  is  a  prison  still.  Sisyphus  domi- 
nates the  stone  to  the  top  of  the  hill, 
then  the  stone  in  its  turn  dominates 
him  ;  it  breaks  away  and  rolls  to  the 
bottom.  A  ship  caught  in  the  outer 
circles  of  the  maelstrom  has  the  free- 
dom of  that  water,  but  is  for  all  that 
a  captive.  The  helm  may  seem  to 
control,  but  the  mightier  eddy  con- 
trols the  helm  and  swings  the  ship 
round  and  round  irresistibly  toward 
the  devouring  center.  So  all  material 
growth  reaches  its  maturity  and  then 
declines.  It  finds  itself,  ere  long, 
in  the  grip  of  a  remorseless  vortex. 
The  violet  is  free  to  bloom  and  the 
pine  to  soar.  But  both  yield  tluir 
dominion   at  length  t(;  overmastering 


84  THE    LORDSHIP    OF    LOVE.         [ni. 

decay.  No  plant  or  tree  is  perennial ; 
none  lives  through  all  years.  Our 
bodies  grow  freely,  but  soon  find 
themselves  in  fetters.  Plato  and 
Garzo  (the  father  of  Petrarch)  die 
on  their  respective  birthdays,  each  in 
the  same  bed  in  which  he  was  born. 
In  four  single-line  pictures,  Holmes 
gives  us  the  entire  career  of  America's 
greatest  orator  and  statesman  : 

A  home  amid  the  mountain  pines  ; 

A  cloister  by  the  hill-girt  plain  ; 
The  front  of  life's  embattled  lines  ; 

A  mound  beside  the  heaving  main. 

The  circle  is  complete.  We  end 
as  we  begin — with  dust. 

Nor  can  science  give  us  the  lord- 
ship we  seek.  For  vast  as  are  the 
realms  she  traverses,  even  science  her- 
self   is   a   slave  to  a  like    inexorable 


111.]  THE    LORDSHIP    OF   LOVE.  85 

monotony.  What  arc  all  her  paths 
but  circuits  ?  Mercury  revolves  about 
the  sun  in  eighty-seven  days ;  Her- 
schel  in  eighty-four  years.  Their 
orbits  are  but  inner  and  outer  walls 
of  the  same  prison. 

But  between  the  moral  affections 
and  all  that  we  find  in  science  there 
is  this  immense  difference,  that  where- 
as in  science  we  know  just  what  to 
count  upon  beforehand,  in  the  realm 
of  the  affections  we  have  no  such  lim- 
itation. Let  a  man  give  himself 
freely  to  any  pursuit  or  to  any  person, 
and  there  is  no  telling  at  all  before- 
hand what  and  how  much  that  man, 
and  especially  that  woman,  will  do. 

There  is  no  telling  what  Jonathan 
will   do   !i()\v  that   he  has  iriven   him- 


86  THE    LOKDSIIir    OF    LOVE.  [iii. 

self  to  David  so  that  he  loves  him 
"  as  his  own  soul."  David  can  count 
with  almost  scientific  accuracy  on  the 
flight  of  a  projectile,  and  on  the  re- 
sult when  that  projectile  impinges 
on  the  forehead  of  a  boastful  Philis- 
tine. To  his  practiced  eye  and  arm 
there  is  nothing  surprising,  nothing 
"  wonderful "  in  that.  But  the  love 
of  Jonathan,  that  love  which,  over- 
mastering envy  and  ambition,  helps 
David  to  the  throne  of  which  Jona- 
than is  himself  the  rightful  heir  ;  the 
love  which  makes  Jonathan  happy  to 
say,  "  Thou  shalt  be  King  and  I  shall 
be  next  unto  thee  " — that  is  to  David 
an  unceasing  marv'^el  :  "  Thy  love  to 
me  is  wonderful,  passing  the  love  of 
women." 


III.]  THE    LORDSHIP    OF    LOVE.  87 

Souls  do  not  blend  accordincr  to 
any  law  of  equivalents  or  multiple 
proportions.  We  have  in  chemistry 
not  only  prot-oxides  and  deut-oxides, 
but  /^r-oxides,  compounds  contain- 
ing oxygen  in  its  largest  measure  of 
combination.  But  who  has  yet  found 
the  limit  beyond  which  the  love  of 
a  wife  will  not  go  for  her  husband,  or 
of  a  mother  for  her  child,  or  of  a 
father  for  even  his  erring  boy  ?  The 
prodigal,  on  his  wa}^  home,  can  rely 
perfectly  on  the  old  routine  of  seed- 
time and  harvest  l)ringing  bread  in  its 
season  to  even  the  "ser\'ants"  of  his 
father's  house.  But  could  he  have 
counted  beforehand  ow  that  father 
running  out  to  meet  him  while  yet 
a  great    way   off  ;    the   embrace,    the 


88  THE    LORDSJIir    OF    LOVE.         [iii. , 

kiss,  the  robe  and  the  ring,  the  shoes, 
and  the  fatted  calf? 

A  man  gives  himself  to  his  coun- 
try. You  can  not  calculate  on  him 
after  that.  Neither  drillmaster  nor 
paymaster  can  help  you  in  your  calcu- 
lations. The  cleverest  scientist  could 
not  have  written  up  Thermopylae, 
Sempach,  Bunker  Hill,  or  Valley 
Forge,  in  advance. 

A  young  midshipman  once  felt  im- 
pressed that  he  should  never  rise  in 
his  profession.  "  My  mind,"  he  said, 
"  was  staggered  with  a  view  of  the 
difficulties  which  I  had  to  surmount, 
and  the  little  interest  I  possessed.  If 
at  a  moment  I  felt  the  emulation  of 
ambition,  I  shrunk  back  as  having 
no   means  in   my  power  of  reaching 


m.]  THE    LORDSHIP    OF   LOVE.  89 

the  object  of  my  wishes.  After  a 
long  and  gloomy  reverie,  in  which  I 
almost  wished  myself  overboard,  a 
sudden  glow  of  patriotism  was  kindled 
within  my  breast  and  presented  mv 
king  and  my  country  as  my  patrons. 
'  Well,  then,'  I  exclaimed,  '  I  will  be 
a  hero,  and  confiding  in  Providence  I 
will  brave  every  danger.' "  From  that 
hour  his  despondency  was  changed 
to  hope,  and  a  radiant  orb  was  sus- 
pended before  his  mind's  eye,  which 
urged  liim  on  to  renown,  and  which 
has  made  the  name  of  Nelson  im- 
mortal. 

We  talk  of  the  "  liberal  "  jMofcs- 
sions.  But  thorough  self-devotion 
makes  any  v^ocation  Iil)eral.  It  is  not 
the  profession  that  is  liberal,  but  the 


go  THE    LORDSHIP    OF   LOVE.  [iii. 

man.  The  physician,  lawyer,  minis- 
ter, or  teacher,  may  be  the  veriest 
drudge,  going  through  the  round  of 
his  professional  tasks  as  mechanically 
as  the  mule  in  any  other  mill.  And, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  farmer  at  his 
plow,  the  mechanic  at  his  bench,  the 
merchant  at  his  counter,  the  banker 
at  his  desk,  may  be  raised  high  above 
the  busy  monotonies  of  their  respect- 
ive callings,  for  their  thoughts  may 
be  all  the  while  on  those  for  whom 
they  thus  freely  toil  and  plan — home 
and  school  and  church  and  town 
and  state  and  country — to  help  on, 
if  by  ever  so  little,  whatever  in  the 
world  is  good  and  pure  and  true. 

It  is  a  high   and  grand  prerogative 
we  use  when  we  thus  Cfivc   ourselves 


III.]  THE    LORDSHIP    OF    LOVE.  91 

to  any  person  or  pursuit  with  all  the 
fervor  and  energy  of  our  nature.  But 
we  must  go  one  step  higher.  It  is  true 
we  are  to  choose  our  own  way.  As 
every  man  has  a  memory  of  his  own, 
an  imagination  and  a  reason  of  his 
ovv'n,  so  every  man  (as  well  as  every 
"woman")  is  to  have  a  will  of  his  own, 
a  mind  of  his  own,  and  a  way  of  his 
own.  But  then  it  makes  all  the  differ- 
ence in  this  world  and  the  next,  what 
kind  of  a  will,  what  kind  of  a  mind, 
and  what  kind  of  a  way,  it  is.  It  has 
been  said  that  "  God  does  not  give  us 
brains  and  then  condemn  us  for  using 
them."  Not  for  using  them,  certainly, 
hut  for  using  them  wrongh'.  Is 
freedom  to  think,  talk,  fed,  and  act, 
freedom    to    tjiink.    feel,   talk,  and   act 


92  THE    LORDSHIP    OF    I.OVE.  [m. 

only   wrongly   and     wickedly  ?     God 
does  not  punish  us  for  using  the  eyes 
which  He  has  given  us.     But  shall  we 
therefore  stare  at  the  blazing  mid-day 
sun  ?     There  arc  false  ways  of  think- 
ing,  feeling,  and   doing,  and  there  are 
right  ways.     And  of  those  which  are 
right  and  good,  there  is  a  highest  and 
best.     And  if  we  would  have  a  true 
and   lasting,   an    unrestrained  and  an 
immovable  dominion,  we  must  see  to 
it  that  the  crown  be  upon  the  right 
head.      We    shall    be    subject    to   its 
annoying    and    ceaseless   protests,    if 
we  discrown  what  God  has  made  re- 
gal.  And  the  true,  lasting,  unrestricted 
lordship  is  the  Lordship  of  Love. 

This  gives  us  the  true  philosophy 
of  life  ;  a  philosophy  which  found  its 


III.]  THE    LORDSHIP    OF    LOVE.  93 

perfect  embodiment  in  Him  who 
"  went  about  doing  good,"  who  said, 
"  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to 
receive,"  and  whose  death  was  an  act 
of  loving  sacrifice  in  behalf  of  others. 
It  is  for  this  He  has  superlative  honor, 
"  a  name  which  is  above  every  name." 
It  is  for  this  He  is  to  have  superlative 
dominion,  that  "  to  him  every  knee 
shall  bow."  For  this  each  recorded 
incident  of  His  life  and  of  His  death  is, 
and  ever  will  be,  most  sacredly  cher- 
ished. We  celebrate  His  nativity,  al- 
though we  know  not  the  date  of  His 
birth.  We  ransack  history,  sift  tradi- 
tions, hunt  for  manuscripts,  interro- 
gate coins  and  medals,  decipher  hiero- 
glyphics, study  the  significance  of 
types,  pry  into  the  meaning  of  j^roph- 


Q4  THE    LORDSHIP    OF   LOVE.         [in. 

ecy,  inquire  into  the  structure  of 
parables,  unfold  the  history  and  laws 
of  language,  discuss  the  true  princi- 
ples of  interpretation  ;  we  set  our  feet 
on  every  rood  of  the  holy  and  adja- 
cent lands — all,  that  we  may  find  what 
may  throw  some  light  on  the  life  and 
mission  of  Jesus.  Never  lived  there 
the  man  concerning  whose  whole  life 
and  person  the  world  feels  so  deep 
and  abiding  an  interest ;  the  man 
touching  whose  dress,  manner,  voice, 
and  face  the  world  would  so  eagerly 
welcome  any  authentic  addition  to  its 
present  knowledge. 

The  like  felicity  of  fond,  unyielding 
recollection  belongs  in  its  measure  to 
all  those  who  drink  deeply  of  this 
same  actively-benevolent  spirit.     The 


ni.]  THE    LORDSHIP    OF    LOVE.  95 

names  of  Paul,  Oberlin,  Gordon  Hall, 
Samuel  J.  Mills,  Henry  Martyn, 
Harriet  Newell,  and  Mary  Lyon  the 
world  will  not  let  die.  The  story  of 
their  lives  will  enkindle  love,  stir 
compassion  for  the  ignorant  and  err- 
ing, and  animate  holy  resolve  to  bless 
and  save  men,  until  the  Millennium. 
Not  their  great  powers  of  mind  ;  not 
their  learning,  scholarship,  nor  culture, 
but  what  they  did  in  loving  self-denial 
for  the  good  of  others,  will  make  their 
names  precious,  and  their  dominion 
sure  through  all  time. 

And  as  in  individual  lives,  so  this 
lordship  of  love  is  the  unifying,  organ- 
izing power,  also,  in  history.  Looked 
at  from  the  outside,  history  is  a  tale 
of  revolutions  only  ;  the  hiilli,  growth, 


g6  THE   LORDsnir  of  love.       [m. 

and  death  of  governments,  institu- 
tions, nationalities,  and  civilizations  ; 
arts  lost  and  recovered,  knowledge 
flourishing  and  declining — Layard 
and  Schleimann  exhuming  monu- 
ments of  skill,  now  gazed  at  in  stupid 
wonder  by  the  descendants  of  those 
who  wrought  them  —  one  religion 
displaced  by  another,  to  be  itself  sup- 
planted in  turn  ;  the  site  of  Solomon's 
temple  crowned  anon  by  the  Mosque 
of  Omar ;  the  once  Christian  Church 
of  St.  Sophia  surmounted  for  centuries 
by  the  Moslem  crescent,  but  likely 
itself  at  no  distant  day  to  be  replaced 
by  the  once  rnore  victorious  cross — 
and  so  night  chasing  day,  and  day 
chasing  night  around  the  world,  and 
yet  the   entire  globe  never  irradiated 


HI.]  THE    LORDSHIP    OF    LOVE.  97 

at  once  ;  and  yet  out  of  all  these 
rev^olutions  is  the  gradual  but  sure 
evolution  of  that  kingdom  of  love 
which  can  not  be  moved,  and  which 
is  without  end. 

This  is  a  supremacy  that  was  be- 
yond the  wisdom  of  the  old  civiliza- 
tions. "  The  Roman  world,"  says 
Pressense,  "  was  sick,  not  only  from 
the  shocks  it  had  received,  but  from  a 
profound  disgust  of  all  things.  Their 
malady  was  weariness  of  ordinary 
life.  Satiated  with  all  they  had  seen 
or  possessed,  they  asked  with  scorn, 
'  Is  it  always  to  be  the  same?'  In 
search  of  novelty  they  tortured  nature, 
but  could  not  escape  monotony,  and 
ended  by  plunging  into  tiie  mire. 
Seeking    the  infinite  in  the  finite,   it 


q3  the    lordship    of    love.         [hi. 

grasped  after  the  impossible  in  real 
things ;  or  extravagant  refinement 
and  false  grandeur,  blended  with 
eccentricity  in  pleasure  as  in  pomp." 
Our  own  civilization  is  higher  and 
more  enduring  only  because  of  its 
deeper  and  more  enduring  basis,  the 
revealed  Word  of  God,  the  noblest 
regenerator  of  character,  the  true 
and  only  hope  of  the  world.  What 
more  utterly  senseless  can  be  con- 
ceived than  the  clamor  of  those  "  self- 
sufficient,  all-sufficient,  insufficient " 
men  who  prate  about  the  Bible  as 
an  antiquated  book,  entirely  "  behind 
the  times "  ?  Will  these  jeering 
praters  tell  us  where  we  shall  look 
for  "  the  times "  that  are,  as  yet, 
quite    up    to    the    Bible ;    up   to   its 


III.  J  I  HE    LORDSHIP    OF   LOVE.  99 

exalted  standard  of  individual,  do- 
mestic, and  social  v^irtuc ;  of  unseen 
and  unpraised  purity  of  feeling  and 
desire,  as  well  as  of  purity  of  act  and 
speech  ;  of  strictest  fidelity  in  the  dis- 
charge of  every  private  and  public 
trust;  of  open-hearted  honesty  in  all 
transactions  of  trade  ;  of  equal  regard 
for  another's  good  name  and  good 
success  as  for  one's  own  ;  of  hatred 
of  the  cowardliness  of  deceiving  and 
courageous  telling  of  the  truth  ;  of 
prompt  and  manly  acknowledging  of 
benefits  whicli  have  been  gladly  ac- 
cepted and  enjoyed ;  of  that  ready 
compassion  which  neighbors  even  a 
stranger's  distress  ;  of  answering  sor- 
row for  another's  sorrowing,  and  of 
unenvious  joy  for  another's  rejoicing  ; 


lOo  THE    LORDSHIP    OF    LOVE.  |iii. 

of  outreaching  good-will  for  the  dark- 
ened and  distressed  of  even  most  dis- 
tant lands ;  of  love  to  enemies,  and 
forgiveness  of  wrongs  that  are  con- 
fessed, repented  of,  and  forsaken. 

No.  What  is  needed,  rather,  is 
that  we  go  from  these  lofty  heights 
of  inspiration  down  into  the  greeds 
and  dishonesties,  the  ambitions  and 
resentments,  the  envies  and  cruelties, 
the  sorrow  and  unrest  of  the  "times," 
and  bring  the  "  times "  up  to  the  lo\e, 
purity,  peace,  and  joy  of  the  Bible. 


UC  SOUTHERN  Rtu^'  '•- 


;i.lTY 


AA    000  635  027    6 


Sir  ' 


:>! 


